The Peace and The Panic Tour Delivers a Patchwork of Punk

On Wednesday, January 31, Neck Deep, with openers Seaway, Creeper, and Speak Low If You Speak Love (Speak Low), played at Rams Head Live in Baltimore, Md., a part of Neck Deep’s The Peace and The Panic U.S. Tour based on Neck Deep’s last-summer release of the titled album.

This line-up is definitely one of the most dynamic, with the four groups coming from three different areas of the world: Creeper and Neck Deep stemming from the U.K., Speak Low from the U.S., and Seaway from Canada.

The show started at 7 p.m. with Speak Low kicking off the night with a 30-minute set. This group started out a bit mellow, as their songs are a lot calmer and not ones typical for a mosh pit. Originating from Michigan, the group made sure to thank the audience for coming out, seeing as their last show in Baltimore only drew in around 50 people (whereas Rams Head Live holds a capacity of 1,500).

Ryan Scott Graham of Speak Low If You Speak LovePhoto by Jenna Kauffman

Around 7:50 p.m., Creeper offered more energy music-wise. From start to finish, the group did not seem to stop moving, which deserves major credit as a second opener, since they had a performance similar to the energy of a headliner. This dynamic group consists of six members, which is a bit uncommon for a lot of recent punk groups. Especially with an interesting ratio of five men to one woman. The face of the group is lead singer, Will Gould, with female keys player Hannah Greenwood offering vocals on some of the songs, but this is not a female-fronted group per say. The group officially describes themselves as “Horror Punk,” a genre different to the other bands performing, and their sound was definitely a bit different. Each song of theirs has an eerie feel, while also keeping a fast rock pace, very reminiscent to My Chemical Romance (MCR). Back in 2016, Creeper actually covered MCR’s “This is How I Disappear” for The Black Parade Anniversary Tribute; listen to their comments on the tribute here. Their set livened things up for the following bands at the show, for sure.

Will Gould of CreeperPhoto by Jenna Kauffman

Hannah Greenwood of CreeperPhoto by Jenna Kauffman

After about a 25-minute set from Creeper comes the group Seaway from Ontario, Canada. The group gave a bit of a longer set, lasting closer to 40 minutes. This is when the crowd especially picked up, with a few crowd surfers starting amidst Seaway’s set. They did well getting the crowd hyped even though they were initially not even considered for the tour, replacing With Confidence due to the band’s controversial hiatus late last year.

Adam Shoji of SeawayPhoto by Jenna Kauffman

Neck Deep started around 9:45 p.m., after a decent intermission. Their set brought the whole night together with not only more active crowd surfers during practically every song, but also, they brought out a few of their touring mates during their set. Seaway Drummer, Ken Taylor, came out to help with heavier vocals on “Don’t Wait,” as well as Creeper’s Hannah Greenwood coming out to join on vocals on “A Part of Me,” which originally featured Laura Whiteside. Uniquely, the group also had saxophone player, Tony, a.k.a. Saxl Rose, come out to help out instrumentally on songs “In Bloom” and one of the two encore songs, “Can’t Kick Up the Roots.”

Matt West of Neck DeepPhoto by Jenna Kauffman

This tour has been filled with interesting moments, such as when during the second tour date featured two fans on stage for a marriage proposal during Neck Deep’s set. At the end of the Rams Head Live show, Lead Singer of Neck Deep, Ben Barlow, got up on the barricade separating him from the crowd, during concluding song “Where Do We Go When We Go,” in order to be closer to the crowd before officially ending the show.

Dani Washington of Neck DeepPhoto by Jenna Kauffman

It was definitely an interesting and eclectic night. Instead of getting full pop punk, there was a mix of punk, indie, rock, and just about all the aspects that make up the alternative genre. Upon leaving, one fan said aloud, “That was the best concert I’ve ever been to.”

The Peace and The Panic Tour continues until February 28, wrapping up in Hollywood, Calif. Following that, Neck Deep continue touring overseas. Tour dates for upcoming shows on this tour and following can be found here. Additionally, Creeper will join All Time Low on a U.K. run in March following this tour. Tickets can be found here, but also check out their music and other news here. Seaway and Speak Low have yet to announce plans after this tour, but keep up with them on their Facebook pages at https://www.facebook.com/seawayband/ and https://www.facebook.com/speaklowmusic/.